Exploring the ability of individuals with an intellectual disability to generate and use a compassionate image.

Background: There is a growing interest in adapting third-wave therapies such as mindfulness for people who have intellectual disabilities. This study explored their ability to generate and use a compassionate image.

Method: Nineteen people with an intellectual disability and twenty people without were recruited from further education colleges. A compassion-focused therapy technique was adapted to help participants generate their own compassionate image, and examine whether they could use their images in potentially distressing situations.

Results: With appropriate support, participants with intellectual disabilities were just as able as those without disabilities to generate their own compassionate image. They were also able to generate self-soothing statements.

Conclusions: The participants' success in generating compassionate images suggests this approach may have clinical utility with people who have intellectual disabilities. The next question is whether this client group can use this technique to deal with personally salient stressors.